The One Hundred and Seventy-One War Has Begun

Andre sat on the sub-hatch on the turret, feeling the bumps of the tank body, shaking his body as the body shook. (Starting) Beside him, Ren leaned on the commander's unique rear-opening commander's hatch cover and closed his eyes to rest.

On the side of the road, one truck after another drove forward at a faster speed. From time to time, a truck of soldiers passed by these new tanks talking and laughing, and waved to Andre. Because there are too many vehicles on the road, there is a smell of dust in the air.

Tanks, cars and armored vehicles can move forward on the road, and the light infantry can only carry their rifles on both sides of the dusty road and compete with the wet mud. They staggered, and many of them dragged their luggage.

The formation of these troops is already a bit messy, and some soldiers even only wear white vests, with their uniforms padded between their shoulders and rifles. Of course, some people were leading dogs, some were pulling listless war horses, and most of them were still pulling wagons with piles of supplies stuck in the mud, surrounded by Wehrmacht soldiers helping to push the carts.

I don't know if it was because of the bumps, or heard some sound, Ren opened his eyes amidst the shaking, he took out his graduation commemorative pocket watch, and glanced at the time with the faint rear lights: 12:36.

There are still 4 minutes left before the prescribed break time.

So he grabbed the big earphone and throat talker hanging on his armed belt, put them on his head, and adjusted the position. Except for the hissing radio wave interference, the mess inside was all complaints the sound of.

"Stop!...Stop!...Each company...Stop! Each vehicle...The commander...go to the front...to assemble!" At 12:40, the order came from the headset on time.

Ren sometimes really wanted to complain to the manufacturer of the radio. If this is on the battlefield, what if some important command is missed with this kind of call quality? As the tank troops stopped advancing, many soldiers on the dirt road cast earnest glances, and some even walked directly onto the road, handing cigarettes to these tank crews, hoping to take them for a while in the next march. .

Soon, the cooking team began to distribute food to each vehicle group. The steaming tomato soup, potatoes and black bread made the infantry on both sides envious, and they cast their eyes eager to get a share.

When Rennes returned, the entire tank unit resumed its advance, and behind the turret of the tank, above the engine vents, sat three lucky Wehrmacht infantrymen, observing their SS colleagues with curious and cautious eyes . They enjoyed the treatment of mechanized infantry with peace of mind, because they paid the fare-two packs of cigarettes.

"In another two hours, we will arrive at the border. It's about the same as guessed. Just now,

The Empire has declared war on Poland. The tank shook again, but Ren didn't close his eyes to rest, but spoke to Andre in a rare way: "We have about three hours of rest, and then we may go into battle." "

"We haven't conducted systematic training, Captain." Andre glanced at Ren beside him, sighed, and said, "If we just go to the front line like this, we will kill many people, including ourselves and our friends."

"There is not enough time for training." Ren said helplessly: "But the good news is that the Polish army on the border is not large in number and lacks heavy weapons. That is to say, there are not many of them that can threaten us." Weaponry."

"Although the tank is heavy - you can feel it from the ruts and the feeling when parking. But there are many things that can make us see God. If the distance is close enough and the angle is just right, a heavy machine gun is enough. "Andre said staring ahead.

Not far ahead, a bulky towed 150mm caliber cannon was stuck in the mud, surrounded by a dozen soldiers shouting slogans to push the cannon, and behind the cannon, two military jeeps were parked , a radio stacked in the car.

Andre didn't see it, but Ryan saw it because of the angle. The three Wehrmacht soldiers sitting behind their car saluted the jeep. It appears that the two vehicles belonged to the chain of command of this infantry unit.

Hearing what Andre said, Ren laughed: "According to the analysis above and the information feedback from the scouting troops, I heard that the resistance of the Poles is very slight."

Not trained, this is a common problem of the newly established three SS armies, but they also have their own advantages. First of all, although these troops have not been trained, they have incorporated a lot of veterans of the Wehrmacht, and their combat capabilities should be fairly reliable. ; Secondly, they have very powerful weapons and equipment in their hands, which is slightly

"The most unbelievable thing is the analysis above, and the second is the information feedback from the scouting force." Andre said with a frown.

"You don't seem to take these things seriously, which shows that you have suffered in this regard." Ren said with a smile: "Would you like to talk about it?"

Andre laughed: "There's nothing to keep secret, I don't know if you've heard about the operation in the Sudetenland area?"

"Yeah!" Ren nodded, "I've heard about it. I heard that there was a counterattack in some areas, and we killed a lot of people."

"At that time, I was a second lieutenant of the National Defense Forces, commanding a No. 3 tank platoon." Andre stared at the front, and said slowly against the prestige: "The order from the superior is that we go to receive a Czech stationed at the border. Tank Company."

"There shouldn't have been resistance, but it still happened. The No. 2 car in front of me was hit by a Czech 38t tank, and thick smoke blocked my vision... When I gave the order to reverse, I saw One of my car captains climbed out of the No. 2 car, his face was burning like a demon from hell." Andre looked at Ren: "Have you ever seen a dead person?"

"There will always be some little people who will take the blame, so you will be fired, right?" Ren said while shaking his body with the shaking of the tank, "Nice to meet you, Second Lieutenant."

"I answered your question, can you answer me a question?" Andre looked at Ren and asked.

"Of course." Ren nodded.

"Why don't you say something?" Andre asked, looking at Ren seriously.

"What do you mean?" Ren asked back, frowning.

"I missed the target." Andre replied.

"This matter, I have full marks for shooting fixed targets in school. Since I can do it, why do I need you as a gunner?" Ren smiled.

Andre also laughed, following such a driver—very interesting.

When they stopped to camp, the entire tank company was already in Poland. They set up a tent on the ruins of a checkpoint on a border road. Several people in the company stood by the roadside in a daze, because they saw that both sides of the road had been blocked. Carried to the roadbed below the highway, the corpses of a dozen Polish soldiers were randomly thrown there.

However, most of the personnel still chose to sleep, because they were already exhausted after traveling in the middle of the night, and they needed to regain their strength to face their first battle tomorrow morning.

Before dawn, Battalion Commander Hans called all the commanders of his company and assigned them a combat mission that would start soon.

"Marcus! Rennes! Your two crews are responsible for covering Captain Carter's tank, and follow his tank to attack the village on the side of the road. The Poles may have set up a defensive stronghold there, so you have to cover the Panzergrenadiers to capture there. .”

"The Air Force's reconnaissance shows that the Poles are strengthening their border defenses, so you must attack the village quickly!" Pointing to the map and introducing the basic tasks, Battalion Commander Hans concluded while folding his own map.

"Sir!" Marcus raised his hand and asked, "How many infantry are following us? How far will we stop after we take the village?"

Hans laughed and patted the dust on his trousers with the map in his hand: "Two companies from the 1st Battalion of the 5th Panzergrenadier Regiment will follow you to attack! After taking the village, some infantry will be left to garrison. As for us , The task I received is very simple, try to move forward."

After receiving his mission, Ren rushed back to his No. 113 tank. Along the way, he saw German grenadiers loading ammunition into their rifles, and some people were jumping on armored personnel carriers.

"Clark! Organize the ammunition! Including those three submachine guns!" As soon as he got back into his tank, Ren began to give orders: "Also, check the radio station again! I need to maintain communication with the company commander's vehicle unimpeded."

Then he called out to the driver of his tank: "Bowman! Start the engine! Test the throat talker! I need you all to hear me."

Then he looked at the gorilla-like Bruce beside him, and pointed to the ammunition compartment next to him: "Bruce! Choose a high-explosive grenade! Our mission this time is to support the infantry attack, and there are no enemy armored units." Threat. But you'd better find an armor-piercing projectile and put it in a convenient position! Just in case."

Bruce usually has a bad mouth, and he is not optimistic about the young Ren, but he will still carry out this kind of order. After all, the training he has received is to cooperate in order to survive on the battlefield. So he nodded, pushed a grenade into the breech, and closed the breech block.

Ren, who leaned his upper body out of the car, raised his binoculars and looked at the distance. The early morning of this day was filled with thick fog, which made the small Polish village in the distance shrouded in mystery.

Not far away, Carter's No. 111 tank started, and a puff of black smoke spewed out from the rear of the car. Immediately after the tracks were tightened, the entire tank moved forward slowly.

Immediately afterwards, Markus, the commander of the No. 112 tank, nodded to Rennes, made a fist gesture, and then began to move forward slowly following the shaking of his tank.

"Let's go!" Ryan ordered with his hand on the throat communicator. His tank trembled slightly, and then shook violently, followed by the entire tank and began to move forward, leaving a cloud of smoke behind it. .

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